Introduction to the Supernatural

The Supernatural has always been an issue of consideration, but there are
specific historical moments when controversy erupts and new standards are
put into place. In 1712, Addison commented on the "Darkness and Superstition"
of the Middle Ages in Spectator 419:

Our Forefathers looked upon Nature with more Reverence and Horrour,
before the World was enlightened by Learning and Philosophy, and loved
to astonish themselves with the Apprehensions of Witchcraft, Prodigies,
Charms and Enchantments. There was not a village in England that had not
a Ghost in it, the Church-yards were all haunted, every large Common had
a Circle of Fairies belonging to it, and there was scarce a Shepherd to
be met with who had not seen a Spirit.

Ideas about the Supernatural, including those found in orthodox religious
theology and superstitious beliefs, came into direct conflict with the
rational ideals of the Enlightenment. The friction resulted in disillusionment
and discord and there was a scramble to shore up the systems in place.
In the midst of this disagreement, the Gothic novel emerged as a new genre
of writing, and it directly addressed this highly contested topic. Each
author had a different impetus for choosing this particular mode of expression
with its unique conventions: didacticism, political commentary, and the
revision of myth are among those most often postulated, but the list is
hardly exhaustive. Further, the historical frame for the Gothic spans from
1764 to the Present and this also has a great impact upon the content of
the novels. Thus, the genre is anything but homogeneous, though many critics
have tried to tie up the loose ends into one knot of explanation.

I would like to posit that belief and the suspension of disbelief are
central to the Gothic. The credence of and disbelief in the Supernatural
manifests itself in connection to ideas of the Sublime, to connotations
of Sensibility, to the core of the Creation myth, and in theological concepts
about damnation. My sections are divided accordingly.